LASHKARGAH/ KANDAHAR CITY/ PUL-I-KHUMRI (SW): Afghan officials in southern Helmand, Kandahar and northern Baghlan provinces claimed to have eliminated 60 armed insurgents during the past 24 hours.
Shah Mahmood Ashna, spokesman for the Helmand Police Headquarters said on Sunday militants stormed various check posts in Mosa Qala and adjacent districts last night. He said fire exchanged continued for several hours and ultimately 35 attackers got killed and 25 others got wounded.
He claimed the no loss was inflicted on government forces. Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman however, claimed to have killed 10 Afghan National Police (ANP) men in the exchange of fire in Mosa Qala.
In neighboring Kandahar, government forces said a Taliban recruitment leader was nabbed with his two partners today. Zia Durrani, Spokesman for the Police Headquarters said the militant leader called Assadullah was arrested following an intelligence tip in Daman district.
Separately, authorities in Baghlan stated on Sunday that a joint clean-up operation was launched last night in the provincial capital Pul-i-Khumri. It added 7 militants got killed in exchange of fire with the government forces. Various parts of the Dand Ghouri neighborhood in are still believed to be under the militants’ influence.
Also, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) announced the death of 23 more rebels in sporadic operations across the country in the past 24 hours. The operations were conducted in Nangarhar, Baghlan, Kunduz, Zabul, Oruzgan and Helmand provinces, as a result 23 armed insurgents were killed, 16 wounded and one was arrested by Afghan National Security Forces.
Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated light and heavy rounds ammunition, it said.
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